On Saturday, the choir finally took to the stage to perform at St Johns Church in Tenby. Two planned concerts to celebrate St. David’s Day had to be cancelled as the Beast from the East took its toll.

Tenby Choir were joined by Bella Voce, a young female choir based in Pembrokeshire. The choir formed in 2013 and all members are accomplished musicians.

After a long winter of rehearsals, it was time to remove DJs from their mothballs and polish shoes in readiness for the performance.

Unfortunately, one choir member could not find the burgundy bow tie required for the evening. Panic quickly set in and a number of phone calls were made to try and find a replacement.

Our secretary, Terry Williams, was already at the church watching Bella Voce rehearsing. His advice was to wear a black one as nobody would notice as everyone would be watching Bella Voce! The missing bow tie was last seen in Malvern.

If anyone at the Abbey Hotel knows where it is, please return it to the County Club in Tenby where it can be reunited with one of the barmen!

The choir opened their first set with a rousing rendition of Rachie and an appreciative audience responded with enthusiasm. At long last we were able to witness their debut performance of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah.

Ian Williams, the choir’s talented musical director, has written his own arrangement and the choir have been rehearsing throughout the winter. Wilbur’s arrangement of this number to transform it as a choral piece was outstanding and invoked an emotional response for many of the audience.

I hope that it will become a regular feature in their 2018 programme. Congratulations to Wilbur for his expertise and to the choir for their very competent performance.

As our Master of Ceremonies was on holiday, Wilbur took on the task of introducing the programme as it progressed. His ‘Valleys’ Humour’ was in evidence again as he described the journey of the River Taff with poetic prowess, before telling the audience that nobody had written a song about the Taff, so they would perform Shenandoah instead.

The choir were thrown slightly, as their very competent accompanist Jill Williams played a wrong note.

Wilbur said that this was the third mistake Jill had made in 14 years.

I am impressed by her talent as some numbers, The Rhythm Of Life for one, have a very fast tempo and Jill’s fingers speed effortlessly over the keys.

Bella Voce took to the stage for their first set. If you have not had the pleasure of hearing them perform yet, I can sincerely say that you are missing out on a great experience. This is a choir with abundant talent and plenty of attitude, their colourful high heels bearing witness to this.

Their harmonies were superb and they easily tackled a range of popular songs, including Only You (Flying Pickets) and an upbeat version of Three Little Maids from the Mikado.

When Tenby Choir returned for their second set, I was pleased to see that they were performing another huge favourite of mine. Again, Wilbur’s arrangement of Bring Him Home from Les Miserables received an emotional reaction from the audience.

I still have this tome on my bookshelf if anyone would like to borrow it. They closed their set with An American Trilogy and were joined in their performance by five fellow choristers from the audience.

Bella Voce returned to the stage and again performed some beautiful songs which were received with enthusiasm by a warm, welcoming audience. The choir finished as strongly as they had started with their rendition of Something Inside So Strong.

Tenby Male Choir then joined the ladies and the audience in singing the Welsh National Anthem.

After their performance, we retired to the County Club for the customary After Glow. Wilbur awarded Tenby Choir seven-and-a-half out of 10 (or was that out of 15)? Both choirs entertained us and Bella Voce gamely joined Tenby Choir in performing Wilbur’s arrangement of Hallelujah once again.

Many thanks to St Johns Church for hosting the concert. Thank you to both choirs, Bella Voce’s Sarah Benbow, Wilbur and Jill for all their hard work.

Massive thanks to a wonderful audience, not large in numbers, but loud in applause and vocally supportive. A hard act for future audiences to follow.

The choir’s next concert will be at St. Mary’s Church in Tenby on Thursday, April 26, starting at 8 pm, with the doors opening at 7.30 pm.

Di Mumford